Does true altruism exist among humans? Critically discuss with reference to theories of group selection, kin selection and reciprocal altruism.

Altruism has proven over the years to not only be an extremely hard characteristic to explain but to also define. Whether it is from a biological view, which was constantly challenged from Darwin to the present day, or from a psychological stance where we consider peoples’ motives for such behaviour. Either way it remains an elusive topic where evolutionists have tried desperately to fill all holes that might challenge their theory even though there are countless examples of human behaviour that fail to match up with the latest explanations of why this selfless trait still exists. Firstly we will discuss the development of theories followed by the effectiveness it has at integrating into modern day altruistic behaviour.

Group SelectionWilson and Wilson (2007) define group selection as ‘the evolution of traits based on the differential survival and reproduction of groups’. For altruism to evolve it must contribute positively towards natural selection. Group selection theory came about to resolve the issues that lied with the inconsistency with traditional evolutionary theory - ‘Natural selection in its simplest form favours selfish individual behaviours over altruistic ones: Individuals who invest the most effort into their own reproduction and survival...have the greatest success of passing on their genes’ Price (2011). How then can we explain altruistic behaviour in nature if the trait should have died out a long time ago? Darwin began to answer this in his book Descent of Man ‘A tribe including many members, who...were always ready to aid one another, and to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would be victorious over most other tribes; and this would be natural selection’ Darwin (1871). This led to further debate, surely the altruists within a group would be exploited by those more selfish leading to the decline of the altruist trait. Group selection continued to be vigorously questioned by various publications that arose at that time, and as the theory of natural selection continued to be refined it seemed altruism in its truest form slipped out of the picture and was replaced with an altruism lined with selfish genetic desires. Acts that benefit yourself or your group can be considered selfish; they are carried out to ensure the progression of your group at the expense of others. This dilemma is debated by Steven Pinker who provides his own argument towards altruistic gene progression, he puts forward that altruistic individuals have not evolved to happily sacrifice themselves or act as ‘a human shield’, because a gene that promotes that would never succeed. Instead the evolution is in those who manipulate others to sacrifice their own lives to benefit the group. ‘If one is the unlucky victim of such manipulation...there's no need to call it altruism and search for an evolutionary explanation, any more than we need to explain the "altruism" of a prey animal who benefits a predator by blundering into its sights’ Pinker (2012)’. Dawkins has a similar indirect view towards altruism – but clarifies that when talking about an altruistic gene we are considering the effects and not the motives – therefore ‘a gene for altruism, then, is any gene that, compared with its alleles, causes individuals to benefit other individuals at a cost to themselves’ Dawkins (1979), the example he uses is a pride of lions where one lion has a genetic predisposition to chewing food slower, and so he eats less while the rest of the pack can eat more. ‘The gene for bad teeth would be...a gene for altruism’. If an altruist is without an altruistic motive but inadvertently delivers an altruistic effect, is this altruism? The problem again lies with our definition. Bar-Tal’s definition is perhaps the most comprehensive in my opinion – the behaviour ‘must be performed intentionally’ and...

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...“Truealtruismdoes not exist”. Discuss with reference to psychological theory and research.
Many have defined altruism in a similar context, a special form of helping behaviour that is “an act that is motivated by the desire to benefit another individual rather than oneself” (Hogg &Vaughan, 2008). An altruistic act does not necessarily have a negative or zero value to the actor (Margolis, 1982) but atrue altruistic act is detrimental to the actor's fitness and enhances another individual’s fitness, in other words, a selfless act (Batson, 1991). Throughout the evolution of altruism, there have been many controversies about the existence of truealtruism. Most theories have argued that it stems from ulterior motives, but does that prove that truealtruismdoes not exist?
On the evolution perspective, Darwin states that natural selection favours organisms that are only concerned about their own welfare rather than the others as they are able to survive and leave more descendants carrying their genes. However, the bee phenomenon, where worker bees devote themselves to feeding the offspring of the hive’s queen instead of trying to reproduce themselves, has contradicted his findings (Dingfelder, 2006). Hamilton’s (1964) kin of selection theory explained this...

...Is Empathic Emotion a Source of Altruistic Motivation?
This article focuses on whether it is possible to have true altruistic motives or whether everyone is motivated by egoistic goals. The difference in the two being that altruistic motives are done with the end result being to ease someone else’s suffering or discomfort while egoistic motives have the end goal of reducing one’s own suffering or discomfort (Batson, 1981). Through experiments they have shown that there is a correlation between others altruistic motivations and similarity of the person who is suffering. When one is faced with the suffering of someone they perceive as being similar to themselves, they are more likely to help. There was also a documented correlation between an egoistic person’s willingness to help and the ease of removing themselves from the situation, or personal cost. If a person is able to remove themselves from witnessing the suffering, than they are less likely to help, while when faced with continue exposure to the suffering, they are more likely to provide assistance. These findings help show that there can be purely altruistic motives for helping but they are not conclusive in this result.
Empathy-Based Helping: Is It Selflessly or Selfishly Motivated?
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...﻿Krisna Els 29 April 2015
17516323
Social Psychology 324
Doestruealtruismexist?
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The concept of altruism has been around for a long time and the debate on its existence has been for almost as long in both philosophical and psychological circles. Altruism has been defined by Batson et al., (1981); the motivation that arises within in an individual to help another in distress, from the desire to reduce the other’s distress. Some have argued that truealtruismdoes not exist. Those believe that every act of kindness us humans commit has an underlying ulterior motive; we help others to help ourselves. This is known as egoism, and current theories regarding the existence of altruism tend to be egoistic; that is, everything we do is directed towards one end-state goal, and that is benefiting ourselves. And benefiting ourselves does not necessarily entail gaining something in return for performing the act, but merely reducing our own personal distress by seeing another’s distress, can be defined as egoistic. Our distress (guilt, shock, fear) was as a result of seeing another in distress and by helping the other person by reducing their distress is not an act of altruism, but egoism, as reducing their distress...

...DoesTrueAltruismExist?
"Altruism describes a motive that makes people help because of genuine concern for others, to increase the welfare of others" (Fiske, 2010, p. 321).
Altruism is when individuals are motivated to help others around them without expecting anything back in return; altruism comes from someone doing a good deed without having to be recognized for doing it.
So the big question is "Doestruealtruismexist?" I think altruismdoes still exist, we can clearly see that it does especially when we have a natural disaster like the one that many suffered from in the latest EF5 tornado in Moore Oklahoma, many individuals came together to make donations, and their time.
"Altruism has been thought of as an ego defense, a form of sublimation in which a person copes with his anxiety by stepping outside himself and helping others. By focusing on the needs of others, people in altruistic vocations such as medicine or teaching may be able to permanently push their needs into the background, and so never have to address or even to acknowledge them. Conversely, people who care for a disabled or elderly person may experience profound anxiety and distress when this role is suddenly removed from them" (Burton, 2012, p. 1).
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Doestruealtruismexist?
Altruism is a lack of selfishness and a desired, non-beneficial behaviour to help other people. It is an selfless regard for or devotion to the welfare of others. The question I will discuss in this essay is whether truealtruismexists or not. I will include sufficient reference from the articles, Batson et al, and Ciadini et al, to support and back up my arguments. Both of these articles include scientific systematic studies and experiments with isolated systems to determine if truealtruismdoes in fact exist.
In Batson’s et al article, an experiment is conducted and the question is raised if empathy leads to altruistic motivation, rather than egoistic motivation to help another in need (empathy-altruism hypothesis). Egoism is a principle that states individual self-interest is the real motivation of all conscious action and is the gratification of one’s own desires. The experiment involves participants watching a female receiving electric shocks, and then giving them a chance to receive the shocks themselves to help her. If empathy did indeed lead to altruistic behaviour, the participants would be willing to aid her, when escaping the situation (physically or psychologically) without aiding her was easy, as when it was difficult. But if empathy did indeed...

...Doesaltruismexist? Why/why not? Provide at least 3 examples to justify your answer.
Altrusim doesexist in today’s society. There are individuals out there willing to have unselfish regard for the welfare of others (Myers, 2011, p.581). In Blood Donors and Blood Collection, a study on altruism and blood donation, they found that experienced blood donors were found to exhibit altruism (Ferguson, Atsma, Kort, & Veldhuizen, 2012, p.343). In Exploring Psychology, it tells a story of Carl Wilkens, a missonary, which was living in Rwanda. He refused to leave when the militia began to slaughter the Tutsi. He stayed helping other by bringing food and water. His actions were defiantly unselfish (Myers, p.581). Not something most of us want to hear, but some research has shown that suicide bombers due act altruistically. “Many categories of altruism therefore are reinforced through institutional practices, including financial contributions and participation in costly and time-consuming rituals and service. In the case of a minority of contexts and individuals, this set of commitment-reinforcing practices can reinforce more dramatic, even terminal, forms of altruistic behavior. It should be no surprise, therefore, that many of the suicide terror organizations described here appear to make use of all three sets of practices potentially associated with...

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AltruismAmong Military Personnel
Social Psychology
Amanda Miller
Excelsior College
Altruismamong Military Personnel
This paper will be outlined by first discussing research regarding methods the military personnel engage in acts of altruism and pro-social behavior. Altruism behavior results from the selflessness and willingness to help other people without expecting any tangible reward in return. The military personnel have engaged in many acts of altruism that benefit others such as rescuing, protecting, giving humanitarian aid and fighting to save their country. People give out their possession out of good will; they give out time, money and energy. Individuals practice altruism because they feel obliged to important matters in their life such as career, social or religious factors (Gintis et al, 2003). In the past, the military goal in war was to defeat an enemy, thereby securing the country security. This was done by destroying the enemy capacity to fight thus demonstrating to the enemy that victory was impossible. The new doctrine advocates for the creation of safe-havens for the enemies instead of attacking them. This elevates the value of others over self and can be linked to altruism in military. The Just War Theory provides the basis of military ethics and doctrine and is the core moral...

...Human motivation the influential drive behind humanaltruism
At the forefront of social psychology the issue of what motivates one to act in a prosocial manner has arisen with a vast array of theory and response. The heart of the topic lies in the ambiguity as to whether one acts altruistically as a result of an innate response of empathy and compassion, or merely due to self interest. By definition altruism refers to, “behaviour that helps people with no apparent gain or with potential cost to one’s self”, (Western 2006). Yet, this concept in itself is not unproblematic in that undoubtedly displays of altruismexist, but may not ultimately be driven by selflessness.
Motivation is indisputably the integral drive behind human behaviour, and is the most crucial factor influencing humanaltruism. Reciprocal altruism; simply the idea that we offer assistance and expect it returned, is undeniably practiced with the motivation of one’s personal wellbeing in mind. Similarly, the concept of motivation also provides a logical understanding of kin selection whereby we are inclined to help our genetic related, as aiding one’s family will ultimate better one’s self. A cost rewards analysis, as well as social exclusion can also be depicted as highly motivated by a person’s needs and survival; and therefore can once more be deemed selfish....